18 Jun 2013

Over the last two years, I've argued repeatedly that LFC is an enabling force when it comes to controversial striker Luis Suarez. Even now, with the Uruguayan openly disrespecting the club by shamelessly whoring himself out to Real Madrid, Brendan Rodgers et al weakly refuse to take a tough stance on the player. You reap what you sow, and the Reds must take a major share of the blame for facilitating Suarez's escalating negative behaviour. Things clearly need to change at Anfield, and going forward, LFC and Rodgers need to take a leaf out of Jose Mourinho's book.

In a press conference over the weekend, Mourinho - now back at Chelsea after three years at Real Madrid - outlined an important part of his man-management philosophy. He told reporters:

"There is something I say at every club I go to, and it’s a sentence that I always say on the first day: If you are a top professional, if you are not a selfish person, if you put the club in front of yourself, and if you are here to work 100 per cent for me, for your fellow players and for the club, we will have a wonderful relationship.

"If you are selfish, if you don’t care about the fans, then we are in big trouble. Sometimes you have a couple of guys that are not too keen to accept these kind of rules and this is where you have some problematic relationships. In that moment, the club either supports the problematic player or the manager. If the clubs support the manager, the two little guys — gone, easy"

Whether it's biting, cheating, diving, or using quasi-racist language on the football field, Suarez has NEVER put the club before himself; He just does whatever he likes, irrespective of how it reflects on LFC, and that (IMO) makes him incredibly selfish.

A prime example of Suarez's selfishness is his complete and utter disrespect for Brendan Rodgers. In a press conference on the 29th March, Rodgers made it clear that he'd warned the players not to discuss club business whilst on international duty. He told reporters:

"I always say to players that I've got a very, very simple rule: When you're with Liverpool, just talk about Liverpool. When you're away with your international teams, just concentrate on your international team - and there's no drama".

Suarez has brazenly ignored Rodgers' 'rule' over the last month with his endless public lobbying, and how can that be classified as anything other than a massive lack of respect for the manager? He displayed the same crass selfishness during Kenny Dalglish's reign, most notably when he refused to shake Patrice Evra's hand despite previously promising Dalglish he would do so.

A manager like Mourinho wouldn't stand for Suarez's antics, and the way he dealt with Iker Casillas is (arguably) proof of that. Casillas is a legend at Madrid; he's won everything in the game, and is revered by fans, but that didn't stop the Portuguese dumping him on the scrap-heap for half a season.

That is how you deal with problem-players. You don't kneel down at their altar, subjugate the reputation of the club and lavish them with sycophantic praise just because they're good at what they do. This is Liverpool's approach with Suarez, and where has it got the club?

Absolutely NOWHERE.

Suarez is now spitting in Liverpool's face with his endless attempts to force a move to Real Madrid, and he's desperate to leave *despite* Liverpool's unwavering support over the last two years. How's that for gratitude?

As an analogy: You girlfriend/boyfriend regularly cheats on you. Instead of laying down the law and/or kicking them to the kerb, you keep forgiving them, taking them back, and lavishing them with love and attention. Eventually, your partner openly starts a relationship with someone else, and doesn't care if you know about it. Despite this, you *still* make excuses for them, and beg them to stay with you.

Who is most at fault here? In my view, it's 50/50, which is why I don't wholly blame Suarez. Most of the blame goes to LFC, specifically: Dalglish, Rodgers, and a large section of the club's fanbase, who continually rationalise, condone and encourage his behaviour.

If you endlessly enable someone's behaviour, it will eventually come back and haunt you, and that is precisely what has happened with Suarez. Liverpool have developed a monster, and like Victor Frankenstein, they can no longer control it.

I really hope the Reds learn from the Suarez situation, but as long as Rodgers retains his obvious inferiority complex - and the club continues to sell it's soul just to keep star players happy - I'm not optimistic.

Say what you want about Mourinho, but the guy is a proven, bona-fide WINNER, with a singular, unimpeachable personal philosophy, and he compromises for NO ONE, a quality that all legendary managers (past and present) possess in abundance.

Brendan Rodgers claims he learned a lot from Mourinho whilst working under him, but clearly he hasn't learned enough. He would do well to print out his old mentor's comment and read it every day until the message is burned into his psyche.

Then, we might finally have the manager that Liverpool FC needs and deserves.

NB. To avoid confusion: I don't have a problem with BR overall. Regular visitors will confirm that I've strongly supported him from day one, and I believe he is the right man to take LFC forward. I just happen to disagree with certain elements of his managerial approach, specifically gross overpraise of players, and failure to take a hard-line on senior players like Suarez.

190 comments:

Torres now suarez the modern day footballer does not give a rats ass about fans . Torres would love to come back to Liverpool now . Suarez is selling himself on the street corner . But also in saying that all the report about suarez are coming from the mirror and then everyone is changing it up a little, We want him to stay but if it is true Jose words are true. that's for any club not just liverpool

jaimie.. your forgetting one important aspect.. mourinho managed massive clubs with champions league.. so he can afford to replace a big player.. also he is a big name so he can say some things without getting into too much trouble.. whereas rodgers doesnt have that liberty, he's a young talented manager who's trying to earn respect at a massive club like liverpool, but they arent in the champions league so big players arent't running to liverpool so all he can do is swallow his pride and let suarez drag this great club to the ground which is unfortunate.. so if you want someone to blame then blame suarez but give brendan some slack because he has the potential to lift liverpool again!

Agreed. The treatment by the manager and the club of this player has been shocking and betrayed all principles of Liverpool Football Club. Suarez will leave, but the reputation of the club will be left tarnished for a long time, and it is especially disappointing for any supporter who used to pride himself on supporting the club for its values, among other reasons. What is Liverpool Football Club without its principles? Just another successful club with rich history.

With respect, you're just making the same old excuses. Champions League makes no difference to how a manager deals with his players. As a young manager at Porto, Mourinho was the same. Historically, all the managerial legends of the game (Ferguson, Stein, Clough, Sacchi, Capello, Michels, Lattek, Shankly, Paisley etc), were also the same, irrespective of what competitions they played in.

I'm not sure I would want a complete replica of Mourinho managing our club, personally.

That said, I generally agree with your points, we as fans always say 'no one is bigger than the club' yet the attitudes of some players suggests they think otherwise. Suarez has actually said a lot of very complimentary things about LFC and the fans in these interviews alongside comments that are clearly designed to engineer a move away. I think the club's stance is correct, if he wants a move he has to hand in a transfer request. We don't need to make any more comments on the matter.

Do you not get bored of constantly re-hashing every one of your stories? We get it you dont like Suarez. You dont need to re-do the same article/quotes headlines over and over agin to get your point across. It serves no purpose at all.

I'm sorry Jaimie but I have to disagree. You may have a point that we need to get a bit tougher with players but to openly disrespect and basically sl*g off BR for trying to do what he can to hold our team together, I think you, as a Liverpool supporter, should be ashamed of yourself. Suarez for all his faults is currently one of the best players in the world. We need more players of his ability, not to lose them. Liverpool have now basically told him to either shut up about Real Madrid or hand in a written transfer request. Looks to me like Liverpool are taking a tough stance with him!

two months ago before Suarez started selling himself to Madrid,an article like this would have fans attacking Jamie from all sides.but right now since Suarez said all that its so ironic that the same fans now blindly agree with you.Just like the players of this generation the fans are also hypocritic.

I shall look for one if you can provide the same for your allegations of BR and your obvious willingness to accept whatever the press reports as true. Personally I think that a lot of what has been reported as said by Suarez has been poorly translated and twisted. After all they always tell you his response to the question, but fail to mention what the question was.....IMO knowing what and how the question was asked can make the known answer sound VERY different!

BR and LFC are not in the same group as Mou and Chelsea or Real. We do not have deep pockets or have such established market revenue like Real. The reason for not taking a stance so soon is if we sell LS quick every club we deal with in transfer window will escalate the cost 40% above true value. Basically they will take the proceed from the LS transfer fee right out of our pocket bc they know we have it. Kinda like the FT sale albeit different due to timing-partly my belief is was also LFC doing anyhow. Obviously it is LFC strategy this time to do our transfer business first or most of it with relatively normal budget for this size club, then dump LS and replenish the coffers. That's why I suspect things are moving so rapid. With Mou he can say anything or take a hardline approach bc he will have a super budget anyhow to work with. In recent times Mou does not go to clubs with similar financial condition. Which is Brilliant and a decent argument also itself. What a good strategy. I'm sure BR wants to chop off LS head and put in on a spike at Melwood for some of the things LS keeps saying. But unfortunately he's trying to get the most out of this transfer window. Every window allows a manager to "perform surgery" on the team. Allows manager to take directional steps. Unfortunately the step is either large or small depending on your budget and players abilities are commensurate with market cost, so in order to take a larger step, a club needs to do whatever to maximize during the window. If all goes to plan close to aforementioned fsg could very well have transferred in nearly 100 mil while out is same. I have a little calc to support this plausible scenario. >> by the way, thank you for having immediate spell check on this thing-awesome-bc I am handicap there. <<

nice work jamie , when we crumble a bit at the edges you like to demolish everything , slating ledgends like kenny , giving no support to brendan , and disrespecting the club like you know more and are more experienced at matters like running a club and dealing with players and agenmts . and here is me thinnking you where just some 2 bit blogger wanting to write sensational headlines for clicks , when clearly im totally wrong . keep slagging off the club hey , mr man utd fan

Mourinho didn't dump Casillas on the sideline because of behaviour it was because he thought that there was someone better to replace him. Liverpool didn't have anyone better to replace Suarez and to put a twist on the saying that 'no player is bigger then the club' we needed Suarez to play when he wasn't banned for the sake of the club. All of this talk about him ruining our club's rep blah blah blah is nonsense. You cannot undo years and years of history with one player acting up for a couple seasons. Sell him while he is at his highest value this season, say thank you for the goals and quite frankly world class performances then use the money to invest. If he goes this summer and we have a great season next year then our apparently damaged rep will be miraculously repaired and all of this will be nothing more then a distant memory

Weak your right they should say F you suarez you have 4 year left pull your head in we will sell you when we say so if he want to do a tevez then let him do it Fine him and fine him hard so it comes out of his wages its time the club has balls

Decent points, I don't agree with all of them, but Mourinho is hardly a shining beacon to aspire to. He's the ultimate in short term thinking- he thinks more about himself and his outstanding managerial record than about the clubs he manages. Goes there, wins trophies for sure, but does NOTHING for the long term health of the club leaves a pretty big mess and usually an divided fanbase in his wake. Fell out with Chelsea. Fell out with Inter. Fell out with Real. Went back to his old girlfriend Chelsea this season .

I agree we need to be tough with problem players, but Jose is just as selfish as you claim Suarez is..

We do not know how the club reacts to all this internally. It's a bit difficult, too, as the player is on a different continent right now. I expect Suaréz to be in hot water as soon as he returns to Liverpool. The club has even published a statement the other day, that they will look into the entire matter (not only what the papers report) as soon as they can.

Dalglish was weak when handling Suarez. The T-shirt fiasco proves that. Rodgers has been weak too. A section of fans have also encouraged Suarez's negative behaviour. It needs to be said. If blind faith is what floats your particular boat then that's your choice.

You're right. My point is Scouse 8120 suggested that LFC were now taking a hard line on Suarez, but they're obviously not. If that was true, then LFC would make some kind of statement about the situation, making it clear that the club is in control, not Suarez.

I can see your full of righteous indignation but cant help but think your being a bit over the top on BR there. Lets remember that had he let LS leave last year he would have been seen as being weak, or not a big enough name to hold on to(or attract) world class players but having convinced him to stay he has watched the fella repeatedly let him down. But as you point out he tried to have a word with his players about not talking about transfers whilst on international duty and got done over by them again. So what will he do ? we will have to wait and see but it is starting to look like both Suarez and Reina will be off and they were the guilty pair. The only reason I would now be happy to keep LS is if we were not offered enough money for him and I kind of think that is the right attitude for BR and LFC. I am starting to feel he has become our Tevez and just like tevez he may find that his "dream" move might not actually be offered to him.

For the most part you're right Jamie. But I think you're being overly harsh on LFC and BR at this present moment. LFC are now in a very sticky situation. Most of this is due to the previous failings of Suarez andthe clubs inability to deal with them properly. However, the reality is thatLiverpool have a player worth 50million that wants to leave (and I'd bet myleft nut that Liverpool are more than happy to take the money and get rid ofhim). But this is an extremely volatile situation, if Liverpool takes toostrong a stance and publicly b#tch slaps Suarez our 50million player suddenly becomes a 20million player. And then if for some reason we end up keeping Suarez, we will have player who doesn’t want to be at LFC (and god knows what he’ll do then…)

Agreed. There is no need to, as you say 'b#tch slap' Suarez and instead we should be laughing all the way to the bank. Suarez has turned out to just be a volatile investment which will benefit us next season because of the investment paying off! Thank you for the memories Suarez as well as working hard to double your value in just a couple years. ROI = win

yes suarez is also another good example of someone not sticking together . id go so far as saying hes acting like a judas dog . but that doesnt mean others have to aswell . but if a wall of hatred is what you feel compelled to write and criticise the fans board legends managers past and present like you can do better , fire away . makes good click count headlines tho hey ....

In respect to this season I disagree that the club have "endlessly enable[d] his behaviour" as you put it Jamie. Whilst Liverpool complained about the length of Suarez's biting ban - which I expected them to do as he's the club's best player and when it comes down to it he conducted a farsical attack rather than one which physically endangered Ivanovic - the club still fined Suarez and publiclly rebuked him for his actions.

Regarding the transfer situation. Yes Suarez is trying to publicly engineer a bid from Real which is disrespectful - but any realistic fan would have given the club 50/50 at best in its attempt to keep him this summer given we finished outside of the Champions League places.

So you attack Rodgers and club for 'enabling' his actions, but what do you realistically expect them to do whilst Suarez is on another continent with his international team? Fly over there and try to catch him on his day off and give him a telling off and a clip round the ear? Or perhaps make a public announcement to the press rebuking him, only for Suarez to make Rodgers and the club look even more foolish when he issues another come and get me plea to Real (which would be more than likely)?

Alternatively, the wisest course of action Rodgers and Liverpool could take would be to make contact with Suarez and/or his agent in private and rebuke Suarez for his public outbursts, and insist he puts in a written transfer request if he wants to leave. You might think you know it all Jamie, but you will have no idea whether club has done this or not.

If they have done this, it would be more than likely that they would put this to Suarez in private without publicising it on the Liverpool FC website. Indeed Rodgers has said on a least one occasion that he wants to keep transfers internal until the coming or going of a player is official - which is exactly what he is doing. So to castigate Rodgers and Liverpool for 'enabling his actions' by blowing smoke up his backside when you have no idea of what they are doing in private is both harsh and unfair.

Mate your spot on there ! Dont think BR wants his pocket picked whilst negotiating and it does seem like we are getting our business sorted early but it will probably still work out costing us more for an established striker as you mention. but we can deal with that when we get there and your also spot on about the spell check !

like you know more and are more experienced at matters like running a club and dealing with players and agents . and here is me thinking you where just wanting to write sensational headlines for clicks , when clearly im totally wrong . keep slagging off the club and fans as above hey nice one ;-)

Ferguson sidelined Rooney WAAAAAY after his rebellion, after his form dropped. You cannot say whether he dropped him for that reason, and he certainly didn't discipline him publicly or sell him or grant his request.

I agree with Mike on this. Leaders lead with example. With regards to this topic Mourinho is by no means exemplary. He doesn't do what he preaches. Ever since Porto he has only been about himself. Yes winning trophies as he goes along, but never one that is faithful to a club. In the same sense Suarez is just like Mourinho. Has talent, wins a few awards & recognition and causes a lot of trouble as he goes along. I would say Mancini is more of a person that tolerates no nonsense looking at how he handled players at Man City.

Anyhow shouldn't you be happy that Suarez is on the verge of making an exit. Looks pretty much towards that direction.

I don't see what your point is. Once again, instead of focusing on the issue at hand, you're going off on tangents, desperately trying to find some way to justify Suarez's behaviour. Typical enablement.

- bought for 22m - best player since arrival (by a distance) - highest goalscorer since arrival (by a distance) - arguably hardest working player - most entertaining player in prem. I.m.o. - will sell for almost double maybe more

Before the Summer it certainly appeared that Suarez would run through brick walls for Liverpool... maybe for himself but no other manager would care to make that distinction

A good manager is obliged to get the best price for a player that he can. Most people know that's what's going on here. Suarez will never play for Liverpool again Jamie so stop pretending that you believe Rogers is doing anything to keep him. You don't like / support Rogers and you never will

Jaimie, do you really think the club publishes things like that on the official site? You probably know as much about what's going on at the club behind closed doors as the rest of us. On one hand you blame Kenny for publicly backing Suaréz, on the other hand you expect a public announcement on every silly media report on the official site.

To me it seems that the club makes it statements to some press people, who then write in their articles "a club statement read". If there was no such club statement, they'd be in hot water.

Concerning Gerrard's transfer request, well, they did the same with Torres' transfer request, but they didn't do it before he handed it in. Suaréz hasn't handed in a transfer request. Why should they publish something about it then.

Agree.The club's best course is to maintain a dignified silence and handle the matter in private. If anything Suarez has weakened his own position and strengthened the club's. All these pronouncements show him to be desperate and foolish and as yet RM don't seem to keen to land him at the price LFC will demand (£40m or above). If anything I think Bale will be their main target with Suarez a nice to have at the right price (i.e. below £40m).If RM don't bid or we only receive acceptable bids from other teams(PSG, Monaco, Russian teams) then it leaves Suarez having to go somewhere that isn't his 1st choice or having to swallow his words and crawl back to us. My hunch is he won't be going to RM.

Sometimes taking a hard stance by a manager is also the kiss of death.

Once you turn the clique against you its only a matter of time before your the one without a job.

I do believe we should be very strict on our players but its not my butt on the line.

Im not trying to make excuses but take AVB for example, he tried to change up chelsea and reports were that the locker room turned on him.

Jose Mourinho took a hard stance at RM and the media turned on him for picking on their Spanish gods.

Suarez has continuously burned us and he should have been reeled in along time ago but at some point as a club i think you just hope that a player will show the same support you have shown him.Unfortunately that hasnt been the case with our Mr Suarezbut thats just my opinion

Bit difficult to sideline Suaréz when there are no games played. But while we are at it, you may or may not know that Suaréz is currently suspended from training at Liverpool. And he hasn't turned up there for weeks.

Completely agree with the article. Club first, then player, then fans for me and I think that is a logical order. No player is bigger than the club, full stop and the fans should never be allowed to gain complete control. We are an integral and therefore important part of it but as this and any other club related discussion will prove we can't decide anything amongst ourselves and again that is perfectly natural.

Suarez is a fantastic player and losing him will leave a bad taste in the mouth just as it would any great player and whatever the reason they leave but I don't understand how any Liverpool can look on and actually see as opposed to have it reported what he is saying, right now and be OK with it or him. It is a massive slap in the face to people who stood by him for all the right reasons I believe.

Without wishing to get in to it... we don't/didn't support the action/s but we do/did supported the player. As bad as some of his antics have been on the pitch we as in him and us can come back from it. Time heels just about anything but once loyalty and trust are gone things fester.

Just wondering how you would have liked to see BR take a hard-line on Suarez. Had he taken measures such as dropping him, that would have been a disadvantage to the team and would also mean he probably wouldn't have scored so many/made so many assists therefore we would be talking about a smaller price tag right now. Had he sacked him as many people shouted about, we would have lost out on the whole price tag as well as a whooole lot of goals. There weren't that many avenues of discipline that realisticly could be taken although I for one would have enjoyed the headline 'Mr Rodgers send Suarez to the naughty step for a time out'

Totally agree with you. This is all about money now and getting the best deal for LFC. It's all very well being macho if you work for clubs with unlimited riches who had play hardball. Suarez is gone its purely about getting the best deal. Rodgers or the board aren't fools so getting all aggressive 'in public' would simply being playing into Madrid and Suarez hands. Then he would play I have wronged card by LFC and simply must be allowed to leave on HIS terms.

i do not give a dam how mourinho ,managers his players he has nothing to do with lfc,i reckon we should never sign a volatile player again no matter how good he is ,infact lets not bother, we can just sign players based on wether they are of good moral standing, the constant attempt to turn everyone against suarez is getting on my nerves

I usually don't want to be drawn into speculation about transfer values, but how about Shelvey 4m, Reina 10m or more, Skrtel 12m or more, Spearing 2m, Suarez 50m or more. And I don't see us signing Papadopolous for 20m, or even 16m, either. This throwing around of figures is a bit ridiculous, isn't it.

I've posted a link, but it's still waiting moderation. I couldn't find it on the official site, because I've got a million search results there in all sorts of languages. You may find an appropriate article yourself if you search for "

jamie to get so harsh on dalglish :3 that man is old fashioned by fault being the complete gentleman he is he decided to shield suarez not for who he is but rather as a player of liverpool .....if were to openly ostracise suarez it would look bad on his part .....after all a liverpool legend the man who took us to our halycon levels now condeming the person who looked to be the best bet to take us back......... he was protecting our image not suarez ..... any player that comes to liverpool will know that the fans the manager and club have their back .......dalglish and even rodhers(a little) have ensured that .........condemn suarez we should but not rub off dalglish and rodgers

No idea mate, but signing liverpool shirts and autographs for Liverpool fans is a big give away. it looks like it's going to happen and should be done by end of the week. he came to see his current club yesterday and told them he wanted to go.... But fingers crossed anyway :)

Tbh you don't no that BR hasn't said anything to him tell him he's a disgrace why shud BR talk the press anyway it shud b dealt I'm house not spread all over the place surely that wud b just bad as Suarez name calling him at press conferences it's not school play ground I'm sure that things are been dealt with and we will get a good price for him I ain't surprised with any footballers actions these days there is no loyalty in the game just greed

I tend to side with this. While I think he is on his way for a medical and may well sign for us, just from these pictures alone it looks more like a fan with a liverpool shirt on asked him to sign the shirt. I don`t see why you wouldn`t, as it would be a tad harsh on the fan.

To be a bit judgemental I would also argue that the looks of the people around him don`t suggest this is at anfield, as if it was I would expect a great range of demographics.

True, but he could still say that he already said everything about it and would like to make no further comments until there is something concrete, because he doesn't want to be disrespectful to his current employers.

I will go see my doctor, too, so there you have your medical. And I may even set up a Wikipedia site with fake stats. If I find some time I'll also put some stuff together to produce a nice youtube video. You'll be over the moon.

They already have a pad? he signed that already, they wouldn't say "sign my shirt too" if he wasn't going to sign for us, they would ask first "are you signing for liverpool" then ask him to sign it :) aanyway it does look like that even skysports have said. But we will see what happens :-)

lol get a grip hes signing a few kids shirts its not a contract ,i know we all want this signing to go through but come on lets not build our hopes up to much,i hate to think of the expectations put on his shoulders if he dose sign,lol;-)

Ah, sorry. Just found out it was an American word. Child molester, but hold on, the dictionary says the British word would be paederast.

A year or so ago there was even a story about a British paediatrist (children's doctor) being abused and attacked by her new neighbours, because they couldn't spot the difference between a paederast and a paediatrist.

I for one am, amongst other things, a pedologist. This is nothing naughty at all. It's just another word for a soil scientist.

you stated that we had agreed a fee you also stated many a time that it was not conditional of the suarez sale so happy days,we signed a good player and keep a great player ,and if we sell suarez we still have 50 million to spend ,plus all the money you have stated many times that fsg are going to invest plus the carroll sale ,we should go for messi

WTF are you talking about? Stop spouting utter nonsense. The only possible connection we could have is that you turn out to be the deranged 1diot who's been stalking me and my family for the last three years, a possibility I've considered many times in the past.

A fan might, but we would only be guessing as to what he might have asked. Fingers crossed he does sign as the media right now seem a little jumpy gun. Alberto who was a "done deal" by most press just had a offer turned down, so clearly not that done lol

I think Suarez has painted himself in the same corner Tevez did thinking offers would come left right and centre.

He talks about Real and Barca but the clubs seem to prioritise other targets ahead of him bordering on not even wanting him.

He is a good player no doubt but has grown to believe commentators who stated he alone carried Liverpool.

I think he will be forced to eat humble pie or be left hoping Monaco or PSG have the appetite to sign him with Bayern seemingly well stocked to need a potentially disruptive element to their fine team.

I think going down from that high horse Suarez is currently perched will be a massive fall accompanied by a healthy dose of omelette on his face on landing.

He will end up stuck with fans who no longer particularly like him with the added tag that no top teams fancy him either for the baggage he comes with. He is simply becoming Tevez mark 2 down to the tee.

I agree but I do feel that the club's quietly defiant stance at the moment is encouraging. By not making public statements but expecting a transfer request from Suarez they have made a power move that reestablishes Liverpool as the ones in charge. Perhaps too late but better late than never. Truth is that these last few years have been a nightmare and it's time to end it on our terms.

Mourinho is the last person to put himself, his reputation and ego before any club.. yet demands it of his players.. He's an absolute hypocrite.

Mourinho is a big a cheat/trouble maker as Suarez.. The managerial equivalent.. calling referees cheats and integrity into question.. Encouraging his players to get booked to incur a suspension so as not to miss finals , THE BIGGEST ENABLER OF THE BIGGEST DIVER the PL has ever seen,Drogba. Eye gouging opposite coaching staff amongst a litany of other histrionics and play acting I can't be bothered to go into...

For someone that staunchly defends the integrity of the game at every turn, you've picked a pretty rotten example to highlight Rodger's short comings

I heard that prince Philip, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama are available on a free. Liverpool should act immediately and sign all three, their moral fibre and turpitude stats are through the roof!! Imagine such a defense - inpenetrable!

Tbf, I don't think Rodgers (or anybody else) has really been speaking much on the Suarez situation, even as he continues to spout on at every opportunity, and I don't see how we would benefit from them doing so.

Hopefully negotiations are ongoing behind closed doors to get the best deal for the player, instead of anybody coming out with some equally brash statements in an act of cutting off our nose to spite our face.

Still don't really agree with much of this. Suarez's behaviour is an embarrassment i.e. it's a personal and emotional issue for most fans. I don't think it really has much to do with our on-field performances. I think if he stays with the club he'll still perform exceptionally well - on the pitch. I don't think much of anything he does is intentionally selfish, it's not as if the guy is taking time to plan our his absurd reactions, his occasional dive or idiotic on-field behaviour. No one plans things like that except maybe for Roy Keane. He's simply a hot-head with a real problem containing his emotions. He has the mentality of a child and it's a fairly backwards old-school line of thinking to repeatedly insist that the way to deal with children is to punish them and take the hard line. By all means, if we think Suarez is more of a hinderance than a help to our on-field performances then let's sell him, but to be telling a professional football manager with years of experience how to handle the delicate ego and emotional state of star players from the comfort of your armchair is simply absurd. If anyone here is a sport psychologist then I'll happily listen to their point of view, but it does make me shake my head when the average everyday football fan think they and they alone know what is the best way to handle a problem player.

Ok fair enough, I was only talking about English Football, but given that your list is still only an extra 5 clubs across the whole of Europe, I still think the phrase 'just another successful club' doesn't really make much sense. We are one of fewer than 10 such clubs across the entireity of European football.

Sure, so without our principles and values we would be just another of the 10 or so clubs across the entirety of European football. That is different from being unique, is it not? Which was the whole point.

Yeah I guess, it's just that I'm sure they all think they have principles and values too... Just being one of those 10 clubs is still pretty special all by itself - I take your point though, that isn't a dictionary definition of unique.

Sure they do, but the point is every club has its own variation of values and principles, shaped by its history. We used to claim we had our own values, but the two years of shocking treatment of incidents caused by a disgustingly behaving player have damaged that claim significantly.

Yeah they definitely have. I think he probably has been given extra focus by the press, but at the end of the day he can't complain that much - it's not as if he didn't bring all that focus on himself with his own actions. Best to get rid anyway this summer - one more massive ban for doing something stupid and his transfer value would fall significantly.

Kudos on the "quasi-rascist" language comment. It shows that you conceed (at least somewhat) that it was not rascist.

Other than that what more would you expect? There was nobody that worked harder in a Liverpool Jersey last year that him, nobody performed better. The whole press thing, well, there has to be some leniency there.

Put it this way, Luis has a special relationship with the press, for months they say all kinds of things about him, to which he does not respond. When he goes on international duty, he speaks the same language, and therefore responds to the press, given his media coverage without him saying anything, I think it is understandable that every few months he can put his view on things out there - whether Brenden Rodgers or Liverpool fans like it or not - although just about everything said about Liverpool has been nothing but flattery - guess that flew over some people's heads.